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Before finding her calling as a yoga instructor, Sylvia taught biology, Earth science, and general science for more than 25 years. Throughout her years in the classroom, she practiced yoga as a way to calm her mind and balance her body. In 2005, she switched gears—she trained for more than 1,000 hours and earned her E-RYT 500 certification. She specializes in Kripalu-style mindfulness yoga, which emphasizes self-acceptance and consciousness of the interplay between life and yoga. Although she primarily teaches multi-level classes, some sessions, such as chair or adaptive yoga, are intentionally geared toward those with limited mobility. At the beginning of class, she occasionally reads inspirational passages or practices levitation.

When searching for a name that encompassed the principles of her studio, founder Erika Cooper turned to the five elements—earth, air, fire, water, and ether—and their relation to the five senses for inspiration. She settled on Elements Yoga, which was perfect, as the bedrock of her philosophy is to continuously learn, grow, and remain aware of the world around us. Hence, she ensures each session at Elements is a communal and multisensory experience—in addition to traditional yoga postures, she has students chant, sing, and dance in a friendly and engaging environment that encourages laughter and very slow, purposeful high-fives. Cooper also believes in the power of education, which is why many of her classes include readings and lessons on the history of yoga and Sanskrit. She extends those teachings to regular workshops, as well as to the studio’s certification program.
In an effort to give back to the community through the practice of yoga, Elements hosts weeklong donation-only classes five times a year with 80% of the proceeds passed on to local charities.

Named after a Sanskrit word that means both “power” and “child,” Bala Vinyasa Yoga teems with poses that are as athletic as they are playful. Experienced teachers draw upon Baron Baptiste’s holistic approach to yoga instruction, which aims to transform the body and clear the mind of clutter such as stress and extremely misplaced gym socks. The studio’s all-levels Power Vinyasa classes challenge students with deep, focused breaths that link arm stands, backbends, and seated poses to create a flowing, dance-like routine. Slow Flow Restorative sessions, on the other side of that coin, move at a more leisurely pace as they open joints with lengthy poses, which, like eulogies read by Carrot Top, are supported by props. To bolster their home-based yoga practice, students can purchase mats and props at the studio’s boutique or practice stretches and bends with its live-streamed classes. Dedicated to comfort and relaxation, the boutique also carries calming lavender eye pillows and cozy apparel from lululemon athletica, Zobha, and I Love Yoga.

Patrons plant palms and heels into the wood floors of Bija Yoga's cozy, neutral-toned studio, growing into seasoned yogis as certified instructors lead them through ancient postures. It's this sense of planting and flourishing that Jamie Shane, the owner and one of the instructors, hopes to evoke with the studio's name—the Sanskrit word for seed. She leads her classes with a similar fluidity, whether she's introducing an ever-changing variety of poses during Go Flow—a Vinyasa-style class that links breath to movement—or opening up the floor to encourage practitioners to follow their own yogic lights in Your Flow. Other classes drag yoga into the new millennium, incorporating kickboxing moves in rigorous Kick Asana classes, or robot boxing moves in Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Asana.

An experienced team of soul-stretching yogis guides bodies into soothing formations with a seven-day schedule of various class styles for all skill levels. Newcomers can reach a state of tranquility typically reserved for Walt Whitman's pet dove during the Slow Flow class, which unites controlled breathing, proper alignment, and meditation techniques in a balanced trifecta of peaceful bliss. Ashtanga Blend sessions throw a spiritual curve ball to shake regular students out of their normal yoga routines, exploring different posture groups during a flowing one-hour practice. Advanced students in the Power Vinyasa class submerse themselves in a sultry labyrinth of creative, challenging techniques, for which strenuous exertion and high-energy muscle movements are the keys to survival. From the moment students arrive at the center’s colorful, gated garden, they can immediately hear the soft rippling of fairies holding hoop-dance classes.

Yoga SRQ's experienced instructors lead students through creatively sequenced poses with a packed schedule of Vinyasa Flow classes. Take limbs for a test run in a Vinyasa class, which focuses on proper alignment and mastering combinations of synchronized breathing and vigorous movements, or blend cardio and yoga in the one-hour Energy In Motion session, which pairs sweat and inner peace more effectively than meditating inside an active volcano. Students can also expand yogic horizons in one of Yoga SRQ's non-Vinyasa classes, or nix sneaky stressors with Gentle Energy Yoga's soothing Hatha poses.